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Asked: 2026-06-12T00:45:43+00:00

I am having an odd issue in which the SharedPreferences are not being updated

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I am having an odd issue in which the SharedPreferences are not being updated upon returning to an app. Here’s the scenario:

I have two projects that use the same shared preferences. Project1 and Project2. They are separate but related apps. They are signed with the same key and use sharedUserId to share information.

Project1 opens Project2.

Project2 retrieves the SharedPreferences file and writes to it via this method:

Context prefsContext = c.createPackageContext(packageNameOfProject1, Context.CONTEXT_IGNORE_SECURITY);
SharedPreferences prefs = prefsContext.getSharedPreferences(fileName, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
SharedPreferences.editor editor = prefs.edit();
editor.putBool("bool1", value1);
editor.putBool("bool2", value2);
...
editor.putBool("boolN", valueN);
editor.apply();

Once that is done, I return to Project1 by calling finish().

Project1 then reads the data like so:

SharedPreferences prefs = getSharedPreferences(getPreferencesFileName(), Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
Boolean value1 = prefs.getBoolean(fileName, false);
Boolean value2 = prefs.getBoolean(fileName, false);
...
Boolean valueN = prefs.getBoolean(fileName, false);
Map<String, ?> mappings = prefs.getAll();
Set<String> keys = mappings.keySet();
for(String key : keys) {
  log.d(TAG, "_____");
  log.d(TAG, "Key = " + key);
  log.d(TAG, "Value = " + mappings.get(key));
}

The problem is the values are not updated in Project1. I can tell based off the logs at the end that the file isn’t even generating mappings. However, I can verify that the xml is being updated. If I force stop the app then restart it, all the mappings are there in Project1. All the values are correct. However, I need them updated when the user leaves Project2. I feel like there’s something I’m missing here but can not spot it.

The only things I have been able to find on the subject is:

SharedPreferences.Editor not being updated after initial commit

SharedPreferences value is not updated

These don’t help as I’m already doing that.

I have WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE set in both manifests. The fileName is the same (else I wouldn’t be able to read the file when I reenter the app).

EDIT:

I should note that I did try to do editor.commit() instead of editor.apply() as I thought I was facing a race condition. The problem still persisted. I’m thinking that for some reason, the old reference to the SharedPreference in Project1 is being used instead of a new one even though I’m lazy-loading it each time.

EDIT2:

Ok, to further test to see what id going on. I decided to try the opposite direction.

In Project1 I do:

Float testFloat (float) Math.random();
Log.d("TEST_FLOAT", "Project1: TEST_FLOAT = " + testFloat);
prefs.edit().putFloat("TEST_FLOAT", testFloat).commit();

In Project2 I do:

Log.d("TEST_FLOAT", "Project2: TEST_FLOAT = " + prefs.getFloat("TEST_FLOAT", 0.0f));

I then go back and forth between the two like so: Project1->Project2->Project1->Project2->Project1->Project2 and here is the logcat result:

Project1: TEST_FLOAT = 0.30341884
Project2: TEST_FLOAT = 0.30341884
Project1: TEST_FLOAT = 0.89398974
Project2: TEST_FLOAT = 0.30341884
Project1: TEST_FLOAT = 0.81929415
Project2: TEST_FLOAT = 0.30341884

In other words, it’s reading and writing to the same file. However, it’s keeping the mapping that it had when it was first opened it in the project. Even though I close the project, the mapping remains until the application is force stopped.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    EDIT: I’m still getting upvotes on this answer even though it recommends a method that has since been deprecated. If you need consistent data through multi-process, then you need to use something other than SharedPreferences like a ContentProvider backed by a file system or database.

    https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context#MODE_MULTI_PROCESS

    Final answer:

    Replace

    getSharedPreferences(fileName, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);

    with

    getSharedPreferences(fileName, Context.MODE_MULTI_PROCESS);

    As per document:

    Context.MODE_MULTI_PROCESS

    SharedPreferences loading flag: when set, the file on disk will be
    checked for modification even if the shared preferences instance is
    already loaded in this process. This behavior is sometimes desired in
    cases where the application has multiple processes, all writing to the
    same SharedPreferences file. Generally there are better forms of
    communication between processes, though.

    This was the legacy (but undocumented) behavior in and before
    Gingerbread (Android 2.3) and this flag is implied when targeting
    such releases. For applications targeting SDK versions greater than
    Android 2.3(Gingerbread), this flag must be explicitly set if desired.

    I knew there was a simple oversight in this.

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